Ashley Holzer Qualifies for Dressage Freestyle Final at WEG

Ashley Holzer of Toronto, ON, placed 11th and Belinda Trussell of Newmarket, ON finished 25th in Wednesday’s Grand Prix Special at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) held in Lexington, KY. As one of the top 15, Holzer now moves forward to Friday’s Grand Prix Freestyle.

Following the Grand Prix test, Holzer and Trussell were among the top 31 riders who advanced to compete in the Grand Prix Special.

Holzer and her horse, Pop Art, performed the Grand Prix Special with power and energy demonstrating elastic movements with excellent piaffes and transitions in and out. They were rewarded with a score of 71.708% from the panel of five international judges.

“I have had the feeling for the past few months that he was not himself. We have been travelling a lot, and he did not always feel like his normal, peppy self, but now I feel like I have got my horse back,” said Holzer of Pop Art, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by her mother Moreen Nicoll and her husband, Rusty Holzer. “I was so thrilled with his great ground coverage and power today in the ring, and we still have more.”

“I feel very lucky to have him, very lucky to be here and very lucky to have such great coaches and team supporting me, because without them, I would not be here,” Holzer added.

Trussell, a member of the 2004 Canadian Olympic Dressage Team, rode Anton (Antaeus x Melit), a 10-year-old German-bred gelding owned by her mother Robyn Eames, to a score of 67.208% in the Grand Prix Special, placing 25th.

“We just had a miscue in the one-tempis, and that is so disappointing, because you want to come here and be as good as you can be and that was not my best,” said Trussell. “I am not disappointed with a 67%, but my goals are much higher than that. Anton is young. He is only 10-years-old, and he did a great job at his first-ever world championships, and we will work towards the next one.”

“I am thrilled again with both Ashley and Belinda. With Belinda’s horse, she has done a beautiful showing here. She is on a ten year old horse with a huge career in front of him. Her horse came here and did a great job in the Grand Prix. When Belinda began her canter warm-up today, she had a mistake here and there, and that put her off just enough to not be sure and totally confident in the arena for what she was going to get, and that happens with young horses. I’m thrilled with her, and she did a beautiful job and did a fantastic job representing Canada. Everyone should be proud of her,” said Robert Dover, the Dressage Canada technical coach/advisor.

“When someone is the entire package, you know it. You watch them warm-up, you watch them go down to the ring and go around the outside, and you know they are great. The best news about Ashley is not only can you totally count on her for the team score with her wonderful horse Pop Art, but they got better today, and you can be sure that they will be even better for the Freestyle, because that is how well these two are partnered up together,” he added.

Edward Gal of The Netherlands was awarded the gold medal with a score of 85.667 % riding Moorlands Totilas followed by Laura Bechtolsheimer of Great Britain who won silver, earning 81.708% riding Mistral Hojris. The bronze medal was awarded to American Steffen Peters with 78.542% riding Ravel.

2010 World Equestrian Games — Individual Dressage Standings Following Grand Prix Special

Rider – Country – Horse – Score
Gold – Edward Gal – The Netherlands – Moorlands Totilas – 85.667 %
Silver – Laura Bechtolsheimer – Great Britain – Mistral Hojris – 81.708%
Bronze – Steffen Peters – United States – Ravel – 78.542%
4. Juan Muñoz Diaz – Spain – Fuego XII – 76.042%
5. Imke Schellekens-Bartels – The Netherlands – Hunter Douglas Sunrise – 74.792%
12. Ashley Holzer – Toronto, ON – Pop Art – 71.708%
25. Belinda Trussell – Newmarket, ON – Anton – 67.208%